Dr. McKay McKinnon performed 3rd difficult surgical case in Vietnam

American plastic surgeon McKay McKinnon performed a surgery on Thach Thi Sanh Ly, whose whole body is covered in tumors at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh on Saturday.

Ly, 35 from Tran De, Soc Trang suffers from neurofibromatosis. After Hai and Dung, Ly’s surgery which was led by McKinnon with a team of more than 20 doctors from Cho Ray was considered an initial success.

Ly Sa

Unlike the large size tumor that both Hai and Dung had, Ly had a countless number of tumors of different sizes covering her from head to toe, a case that was rarely seen even to Dr. McKinnon and other experts at Cho Ray.

After the 6-hour ordeal, a total of 3 kilogram of tumors was removed from the patient.

Doctor Le Hanh, a member of the surgical team said all of Ly’s tumors could not be taken out in only one operation, and the team managed to remove Ly’s biggest tumors or ones that grew in her back, buttocks, hands and faces.

After removing them of her face, the team used skin from her inner thighs and leg where there were less tumors to replace her facial skin.

Cho Ray Hospital will carry out a knee operation so that the patient could walk again, the doctor said, as more than ten years of lying in a curling up position has stiffened her knee joints. They will also take out the rest of her tumors, he added.

Thach Thi Sa Phai, Ly’s mother said she was born with a tumor in her back and more of which appeared and kept growing on her body later on.

When she was 5, they brought her to a provincial hospital but it said it was unable to treat her. The family gave up their hope then as they were too poor to afford bringing her to other places for treatment.

For 15 years now, Ly was confined in her bed, and no one, except for her family members dared to look at her, the mother said.